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Abandonment Application – April 1938

In the 1930s, the Canadian National Railway sought permission to abandon the Port Rowan segment of the Simcoe Subdivision – including the two towns that I model. (Click here for a map)

As part of this effort, CNR submitted its description of the line and the communities that it served to the Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada.

I’ve written about this abandonment application previously on the blog and shared some of the data. But I realized I should share more – to expand on the record, as it were.

This information is not relevant to the era I model, of course – things changed significantly in the two decades that separate this document and my 1950s setting. Nonetheless, this document provides some interesting reading, and certainly can be culled as inspiration for operating sessions. So here it is:

(The following is the catalogue information from Library and Archives Canada, for those looking to find it themselves)

4 thoughts on “Abandonment Application – April 1938”

Wow really interesting information Trevor! I was surprised to see just how few cars were moved on the line – some towns didn’t get a car for a whole month! Certainly some short trains and it’s no wonder the RR was petitioning for abandonment. But what a treasure trove! I hope to find comparable data for the line I’m modeling – but I may not actually like what the information tells me(!)

I hadn’t realized that these applications for abandonment were so rich in information! I’ve seen the applications reported in newspapers, of course, but never went looking for the actual application. I shall have to do so now.

Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Jeffrey for his sleuthing. He is a treasure.